The Cincinnati Streetcar traverses 3.6 track miles of right-of-way in downtown Cincinnati and has played a major role in the redevelopment of properties within three blocks of its route. To date, over $1B of development has been attributed to the streetcar.

The public sees the overhead contact system (wires, aka OCS) as the electricity that runs the streetcars.

This presentation will provide an overview of the design criteria that were initially prepared, modified, and finalized for the Streetcar project. The review will include the system from the substation through the alignment and back to the substations while visiting the different issues that required resolution or efficiencies. Virtual side trips to the Maintenance and Operations Facility, an oil filled 125kv underground transmission line, and the track slab will be made.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER:

David H. (Dave) Thurston, P.E. began his career working under the 13kv/60Hz electrified territory of Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor. As a track and structures engineer, Dave and his crews were consistently aware of need of and respect of the overhead system. In the time since Amtrak, Dave has managed design or construction of railroad and streetcar projects, highway/interstate roads and bridges, and other heavy construction. In various stages of his career, he was worked as owner, contractor, and consultant.

LOCATION: Raffel’s is located at 10160 Reading Road, south of Glendale-Milford Road on the east side of Reading. Take I-75 to the Glendale-Milford Rd. Exit, go east on Glendale-Milford Road approximately ¾ of a mile to Reading Rd. and turn right on Reading.

RESERVATIONS: http://www.ieeecincinnati.org/meetings/. Please click on the appropriate link and complete the reservation. (Note: Meeting list on webpage is slow to load on some browsers)

Reservations close at midnight on Sunday January 22, 2017. DINNER RESERVATION CANCELLATION POLICY An email to Reservations@ieeecincinnati.org prior to the close of reservations is required to properly cancel your reservation.

All Reservations must be made by midnight, Sunday January 22, 2017

WALK-INS (those without reservations): You are welcome to attend this meeting and/or enjoy the dinner even if you did not register in advance. Walk-ins pay a higher $15 dinner fee. Raffel’s determines our cost based on the number of plates used; if you choose to have dinner, please pay the fee if you eat even if you arrive late or didn’t pre-register.

PE CREDITS: Depending on the subject matter, attendance at IEEE Cincinnati Section Meetings now qualifies the attendee for Professional Development Hours towards renewal of Professional Engineers Licenses. Required documentation will be available following the meeting if qualified! The Section Meetings also provide a great opportunity to network with fellow engineers in the area.

IEEE-USA: H-1B Outsourcing Bill Will Not End Outsourcing

WASHINGTON (6 January 2017) — Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Scott Peters (D-Calif.) have introduced legislation to combat outsourcing within the H-1B visa program. While the bill recognizes how destructive the H-1B program can be, it doesn’t do nearly enough to reign in outsourcing companies or protect American jobs.

“Hundreds of Americans lost their jobs to the H-1B program in Rep. Issa and Peters’ congressional districts,” IEEE-USA President Karen Pedersen said. “Yet their bill will allow thousands more jobs to be lost in the future.”

“It is simply unacceptable — at any wage rate — for companies to fire Americans and replace them with non-Americans who will never be allowed to become citizens.”

The “Protect and Grow American Jobs Act,” reintroduced Wednesday, raises the minimum salary companies have to pay their H-1B workers to avoid complying with regulations protecting U.S. and H-1B workers. Under the bill, the current threshold of $60,000 would increase to $100,000. The legislation would also eliminate an exemption from the regulations for H-1B workers with master’s degrees.

IEEE-USA has the following concerns about the bill:

* No wage rate is acceptable for companies to replace American workers with employees who are non-citizens

* Compensation is more than just salary. Employing H-1B workers can save companies money on retirement costs, healthcare costs, training costs and virtually every other benefit.

* H-1B workers can be dismissed at will without any legal complications, negating decades of hard-fought worker protections.

In Issa and Peters’ San Diego-area congressional districts, hundreds of American employees of Southern California Edison were replaced by workers on H-1B visas. The company hired a firm whose business model is to outsource American jobs to lower-wage foreign employees. The American workers were forced to train their replacements to get severance packages.

IEEE-USA believes that, if companies really need to hire non-American employees inside the United States, they should be allowed to do so. But as American citizens, not temporary guest workers. Real immigration, built on green cards and citizenship, strengthens the U.S. economy and creates jobs for all Americans. The temporary H-1B program is popular with corporations specifically because it does not.

IEEE-USA calls on Congress to demonstrate its opposition to H-1B outsourcing by prohibiting it. Anything short of this is implicit permission for the job losses to continue

“Outsourcing companies use the H-1B program specifically because it does not allow workers to become Americans,” Pedersen said. “It enables companies to avoid having an American workforce, while still enjoying the benefits of doing business in the United States.”